He’s only 21, but Dutchman Boyan Slat has already achieved global fame with his ‘Ocean Cleanup’: an installation of V-shaped long floating arms that are positioned at strategic points in the sea, where they collect all the plastic that is floating about in the ocean. The first prototype was presented recently. As proud sponsor of this project, Cadmes was there to see the long scale model with our own eyes. “We had an enormous sense of pride,” according to CEO Gerbert Thelissen.
Around 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean every year. Boyan Slat’s mission? To extract all this plastic so it can be recycled. So in 2013, Slat launched ‘The Ocean Cleanup’ project: a foundation that develops technologies to extract plastic pollution from the oceans and prevent more plastic debris from entering ocean waters. The project has received over $2.2 million in crowdfunding and financial contributions from large sponsors.
Cadmes is happy to be supporting this great project. “I met Boyan at Solidworks world 2014,” says Thelissen. “He presented his ideas and I was full of enthusiasm right from the outset. The concept sits perfectly with the tools that we sell, and is in line with our aim to be socially engaged. When Boyan asked me whether Cadmes would sponsor his initiative, I didn’t hesitate for one second.”
A great test
Cadmes sponsors the Ocean Cleanup in collaboration with Solidworks. This support means providing Solidworks premium, Solidworks flow Simulation and Solidworks visualize Professional licences, together with technical support and product training. For Cadmes and Solidworks, the Ocean Cleanup is a wonderful example of what this software is capable of. Thelissen: “Solidworks premium supports functional and effective product design. And you need that, because the ocean is the most unfamiliar terrain in the world. It’s exciting, for example with Solidworks flow Simulation, to test whether the Ocean Cleanup material is able to withstand all the impacts the ocean throws at it. We can’t wait to see the results!” With Visualize, Solidworks is also bringing the project to the attention of a global audience in the best and finest way possible.
First milestone
On Wednesday 22 June, the first milestone finally arrived: the first prototype was launched at sea. Thelissen: “What was notable during this presentation was the attention and enthusiasm of the international press. Our government, quite rightly, is also giving it a lot of attention. It was wonderful to see such interest.”
